Synopsys revamps license, product strategiesNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentThough revenues were down substantially in its recently-completed fiscal quarter, Synopsys Inc. has declared success with two major transitions. One is a shift to subscription-based licensing, and the second more significant change is Synopsys' evolution into an IC physical design company.

Europe mulls electronics-recycling legislationNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentAs European Union member countries ready procedures for the recycling and disposal of electronic equipment, those monitoring their progress are warning that multinational equipment makers should similarly be gearing up to comply with the evolving European Union directives.

Cable operators shopping for home servicesNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentHome networking was hot at this week's The Western Show as set-tops and other gadgets displayed built-in links to wired and wireless domestic nets. But the industry showed no signs of consolidating around any particular technology yet with wireless, phone line, power line and other options all getting some attention.

LSI Logic inks foundry, marketing alliance with Mobility ElectronicsNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentMILPITAS, Calif. -- LSI Logic Corp. here today announced a major foundry and marketing alliance with Mobility Electronics Inc., a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based supplier of chips for high-speed connectivity and docking applications for PCs.
Under the terms, LSI Logic will license Mobility Electronics' Split Bridge chip technology, which provides high-speed connectivity between PCs and other products. In addition, LSI Logic will manufacture, market and sell the Split Bridge chips to its customers. The

Familiar problems resurface at GlobecomNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentDespite the breaking of this year's IEEE Globecom into six miniconferences, the problems communications researchers pursued at this week's gathering had a familiar ring, whether the physical layer is fiber, copper or a wireless-radio environment. With the network protocol all but unified under the Internet Protocol (IP) umbrella, developers are looking to the Transport Control Protocol (TCP) and higher layers, in attempts to make IP look fully dynamic and flexible.

Cypress is latest company to issue warning for 4QNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentSAN JOSE, Calif. -- Hit by a slowdown in its chip business, Cypress Semiconductor Corp. here today become the latest chip maker to issue a warning about its financial picture in the fourth quarter.
The disclosure by San Jose-based Cypress follows similar announcements made by Altera, Fairchild Semiconductor, Mosel Vitelic, and other chip makers in recent days. Another concern is that some major OEMs have also lowered their previous forecasts, including Gateway, Lucent, among others.

IBM-Infineon venture selects Dow Chemical's resin for low-k processNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a comment
CORBEIL ESSONNES, France--Altis Semiconductor, the joint-venture fab venture between IBM Corp. and Infineon Technologies AG, today announced it will use a low-k dielectric resin from The Dow Chemical Co. for 0.13-micron copper chip production next year. The decision follows IBM's selection of Dow Chemical's SiLK material for its own 0.13-micron copper processes earlier this year (see April 3 story).

Intersil jumps into broadband wireless chip marketNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentIRVINE, Calif. -- Intersil Corp. here today entered the broadband wireless chip market by rolling out a product said to deliver data at speeds up to 155-megabits-per-second.
The new 7060 modem chip set from Intersil is designed for use in wireless broadband systems, third-generation (3G) cellular equipment, and other products. The 7060 was originally designed and developed by SiCom Inc., a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company that was acquired by Intersil in September for about $192 million.

TEL, Nikon team up in 300-mm track, scanner evaluationsNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentTOKYO--Tokyo Electron Ltd. today announced it plans to share a facility with Nikon Corp. to evaluate lithography track coater and developers systems with exposure tools for 300-mm wafer fabs. The share facility and collaboration will enable TEL to develop new processes and technologies for next-generation fabs, said company officials in Japan.

Matsushita's three-year plan emphasizes ICs for TV, mobile communicationsNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentOSAKA, Japan--Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. here today outlined plans to reshapes its business culture while restructuring its businesses for stronger growth in the decade. The three-year "Value Creation 21" initiative sets Matsushita's top priorities as being in television and mobile communications applications, and it plans to expand these segments with advances in integrated circuits, data storage devices, and displays.

Via announces new 650- and 667-MHz processors for low-cost PCsNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentTAIPEI, Taiwan -- In a move to expand its microprocessor business, Taiwan's Via Technologies Inc. here today introduced two new chips for the low-cost PC and related markets.
Based on an advanced, 0.18-micron process technology, the two new Via Cyrix III line of processors from the Taipei-based chip maker run at speeds of 650- and 667-MHz. The chips are targeted for the "value" segments of the x86-based desktop, notebook, and information appliance markets, said Wenchi Chen, president and chie

Surprising jump in Q3 wafer capacity could spell troubleNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentSAN JOSE -- Wafer processing capacity worldwide took a sudden and somewhat unexpected jump in the third quarter, based on new data released by the Semiconductor Industry Association here. The SIA's quarterly capacity report shows wafer starts in chip-fabrication plants surging 6.8% in the third quarter from volume run rates in the second quarter, putting this year on a record pace for increased unit output, said industry observers, who worry about the timing of the growth.

When distortion helps handsetsNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentPMC-Sierra has decided to use a proprietary DSP architecture to deliberately distort wireless signals in a bid to improve the chances of good reception at the handset.

'Positive' outlook for RadstoneNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentBeeson Gregory, the investment bank, has put out a buy note on Radstone Technology, saying its stock could climb by 50% on the back of comparisons with competitors and strong market potential.

Spin-off wins $2.5m for plastic chips studyNews & Analysis 11/30/2000 Post a commentCambridge University, with the help of Herman Hauser's Amadeus Capital Partners venture capital company, has formed a spin-off called Plastic Logic to commercialise research into plastic semiconductors.

Transmeta discovers faulty processors in NEC's notebook PCsNews & Analysis 11/29/2000 Post a commentSANTA CLARA, Calif. -- In the latest setback in its relatively short history, Transmeta Corp. here on late Wednesday announced that it discovered a faulty batch of microprocessors in a notebook PCs made by NEC Corp. of Japan. Transmeta, a high-profile startup supplier x86-based processors, said it is working with NEC to correct the problem by replacing the faulty chips in about 300 of notebook PCs.

Smaller chip designs will propel growth of ion-implanter market, says analystNews & Analysis 11/29/2000 Post a commentSAN JOSE -- Fueled by the push towards smaller geometries in IC designs, the ion-implanter equipment market is projected to grow 58% over a three-year period, according to figures from VLSI Research Inc. here.
In total, the worldwide ion-implanter equipment market is projected to grow from $671 million in 1999, to about $1.35 billion in 2000, said Risto Puhakka, an analyst who tracks the industry for VLSI Research in San Jose. However, the ion-implanter tool market will de-accelerate next year,

Credence posts Q4 recordNews & Analysis 11/29/2000 Post a commentDespite a record fourth quarter and a strong fiscal year, Credence Systems Corp. tempered the news this week with talk of an expected downturn in revenue for the first quarter due to looming uncertainties in the marketplace.

Co-design tools draw a diverse crowdNews & Analysis 11/29/2000 Post a commentHardware/software co-design and co-verification tools are attracting what is probably the most diversified audience of any EDA tool category, although some question whether the offerings should even be classified as EDA. Hardware, software and firmware engineers all have their own ways of using the tools, which appear to be equally adept at the chip and board levels.

Russian DSP developer scouts RISC partnershipNews & Analysis 11/29/2000 Post a commentLONDON ( ChipWire)  Research Center Module, a design group and intellectual property licenser based in Moscow, is moving its 64-bit NeuroMatrix digital signal processor to a 0.25-micron process technology and is looking for a partnership with a Western RISC-processor provider to help its DSP technology penetrate key applications.

ATI announces program to help OEMs develop set-top boxesNews & Analysis 11/29/2000 Post a commentMARKHAM, Ontario, Canada -- ATI Technologies Inc. here today unveiled a program that will enable OEMs to develop a low-cost, set-top box based on the company's graphics and related chip products.
ATI's new Technology Access Program (TAP) also includes third-party software and hardware suppliers, which will also help OEMs develop their products. The initial TAP partners are Metro Link Inc. and Bsquare Corp. Metro Link specializes in embedded software applications like Linux and VxWorks, while Bs